Freezing personal injury lawyers and claims farmers out of the motor market would save up to £1.5 billion in unnecessary costs and lead to lower premiums for drivers, according to Aviva.

But the call on accident victims to go direct to their insurer, made by Britain’s third-largest car insurer in a report to be published today, was dismissed outright by the body that represents the specialist legal services sector.

Deborah Evans, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said: “The idea that an injured person could rely on the good nature of the guilty party’s insurer to provide